Improved water-wheel



einen ,ema W 'atwtilm Letters Patent No.v 85,094, datedDecf/mber22, 186.8.

IMPROVED WATER-WHEEL.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part: of the same.

To all whom, it fina/y concern:

Be it known that I, WELI'AM HEUPCKE, of Black f Creek, Luzerne county, State of Pennsylvania, have invented au- Improved Water-Wheel and I do hereby declare the following description and accompanying drawings are sufficient to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which it most nearly appertains, to make and Ause my said invention or improvements without further invention orexperiment.

The nature of my invention and improvements consists in making the top of the wheel an air-chamber', to .buoy up a part of the weight of' the wheel; also, in making the floats hollow or box-form.

In the following description of my invention, I shall refer to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this speeication- Figure 1 being arplan of my wheel, the cover of the case and top ofthe Wheel being removed, and

Figure 2, a vertical section at the line a z on iig. 1.

A A are the forebays, from which water is admitted to the wheel by the gates B B, so as to issue into the wheel from the chutes C O.

The oats or buckets D D are made with three sides enclosing a space, or in box-form, to give proper direction to the different sides, and for greater strength.

The side, a, corresponds with the circumference of the wheel. A

The side, b, against which the water from the chute is t0 strike, to drive the wheel," is made fiat, or plane,

peiling the wheel.

The side, c, of the floats is curved backward relatively to the motion of the wheel, so that the water escaping from the wheel may leave it in a backward direction relatively to the motion of the wheel, and nearly in the direction of a tangent to the circumference at that point.

D D, and is made an airetight chamber, E, in order that,

the buckets, the wheel will be buoyed up bythe airchamber' E, and the weight on the step ofthe shaft lightened, so as to les'seuthe friction and wear oli the step. I

for this purpose, by partially olosing',if necessary, the discharge-ports G G.

It is plain that the hollow or box-form buckets D D will have the saine eiect of lightening the wheel.

. H is the shaft, supporting the wheel, and upon which it revolves, and

I I are Ventilating-pipes for the case F.

I claim the air-chamber E above the wheel, so that, when the water is higher around the wheel than the oats, it will tend to lift the Wheel, and lighten the pressure on the step ofthe shaft.

I claim the hollow or box-form buckets D, having tially in the manner and for the purposes described. WILLIAM HEUPGKE.

Witnesses:

IDENMS, Jr., R. H'. MARsH.A

The top of the Wheel is extended above the buckets.

when the water in the surrounding-case F rises above- The water in the case F may 'at any time be raised,"-

two curved sides, and one plane, or nearly so, substan- 

